tough cookie

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tough cookie

noun tough cookies

  1. informal A person who can endure physical or mental hardship; a hardened, strong-willed person. An austere, hard-lining rightist, who lives alone, Ioannidis is described by one Washington military official as "a real tough cookie."

    Similar: survivor, trooper

  2. informal A hardy, resilient animal or plant. Boxwood is a pretty tough cookie. Wind, cold, wet, exhaust fumes, and industrial pollution are of no consequence.
  3. informal Something troublesome or difficult to handle. The pup that struggles constantly might be one tough cookie when it comes to training; […]

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noun person who can endure physical or mental hardship

Portuguêsosso duro
DeutschÜberlebenskünstler, harter Knochen, zäher Bursche
Italianoosso duro

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MLA

"tough cookie." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tough%20cookie. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

tough cookie. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tough%20cookie

Chicago

"tough cookie." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tough%20cookie.

BibTeX
@misc{tough_cookie_2026,
  title = {tough cookie},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tough%20cookie},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}